2) I've had the pleasure of reviewing the latest edition of the "Getting Started with DB2 Express-C" free book. Raul and his team did an amazing job writing a short book that covers just about everything that you need to know to get started using DB2. The latest edition isn't posted yet, but should be really soon.

3) Compression, WLM, and SQL/PL are the big stories. Did you see the cool video that explains how great these feature is? The video is actually the Technology Update Chat with the Lab.... watch it :)

Come prepared for complimentary exams offered at the IBM Information On Demand 2008 conference, coming to Las Vegas Oct. 26 - 31, with free Information Management certification practice tests. Usually offered through Prometric for a fee, take these tests online for at no charge for two weeks leading up to the conference.

How? If you are registered for the conference, you will receive an email containing your promocode allowing you to take the practice test for FREE.

If the results of the practice test indicate that you need to improve your skills... here are a few suggestions:

This high level certification preparation review is intended to help you take IBM Certification Test 732, DB2 9 DBA for z/OS. Gain an intense overall review of those areas that are on the certification exam.

This training is designed to introduce the student to the concepts a test candidate must know in order to take and pass the DB2 9 DBA for Linux, UNIX, and Window certification exam (Exam 731). The material for this course is aligned with the 731 exam objectives.

Remember: Those who are certified are eligible to attend the certification lounge at the IOD conferences... for FREE MASSAGES!

The book is expected to publish BEFORE the IOD conference in October despite the website saying the book publishes in November.

Book Description:DB2 9 for z/OS Database Administration Certification Study Guide is the definitive guide to preparing for the IBM Certification 732 Version 9 DBA Certification Exam. The book covers all topics on the exam and also provides a wealth of information about DB2 z/OS Version 9. It also includes a lot of practical information and tips for best performance and usage of DB2. The book is written by two industry experts who were both members of the team that created the 732 exam.

This book covers all of the topics that are on the exam: Database design and implementation, operation and recovery, security and auditing, performance, and installation and migration. There are practice questions with detailed answers at the end of each chapter as well as an 80+ question practice exam. But beyond certification prep, it also covers the new features of version 9 for both database and application development. It will serve as an essential tool for studying for exam 732 as well as a reference that all DB2 DBAs will want on their desktops.

I hope that many of the people reading this are actually planning to attend the IBM Information On Demand conference in Las Vegas that begins Oct 13. From my perspective, we've been working hard creating collateral, sending packages, producing signs and posters, and much more to ensure that the attendees of the conference are well taken care of.

I've heard that the attendance is very strong... and the sessions are filling up fast. If you haven't yet registered for the conference or sessions, there is still time. If you can't make it this year, try to get it on your agenda for next year.

Personally my schedule isn't completely filled up... but I wanted to share with you the events that I'm definitely planning to attend:

Sunday October 14Conference Registration 6:30a–9:00p - I have to begin work really early, so I'll likely register at 6:30 am!Pre-Conference Education 7:00 am - I'm not attending any sessions, but I'm helping those who are registered to find class room locations. If you want more information on these sessions, see the website or one of my previous blog entries.Bookstore 8:30a – 7:00p - Rupin is the bookseller again this year. He will have a very wide selection of books available at a 20% discount. Buy your books early as there is a limited supply... plus, it might help you pass an exam or two. Watch for several books that are making their publishing debut at this conference.Certification Testing 9:00a – 4:00p - Susan, Heather, and a few others will be permanent fixtures in the certification area. With the number of machines that they have set up this year, no one who wants to take an exam will be turned away! Notice that they are testing on a Sunday..... this is a conference first.How to Navigate Conference 1:00p-4:30p - Also a new addition to the conference. A conference this size can be a bit overwhelming. I plan to attend this session so I can see how to make the best use of my time. Unfortunately this session conflicted with a mock trial that I considered attending.Kathrine Rutledge Meet & Greet 4:00p – 5:00p - Kathrine is my third line manager, and this will be the first time I'll meet her. Only people in our organization are invited to this session....Expo Center Grand Opening Dinner Reception 5:00p-7:00p - Food, drink, desserts, networking: what more can you ask for!Community Reception 7:00p-9:00p - This is new. Choose from a number of community receptions, join the one that most closely matches with your area of interest/expertise, and meet others "just like you!".

Monday October 15Breakfast 6:30-7:45 - Those who know me.... know that food is pretty important to me... so I'll list all the food hours for all the other foodies out there!Certification Testing Ballroom D 10:00a – 5:15pCertification Lounge Ballroom C 1:00p – 5:00p - This is a repeat of a very popular event from last year's conference. IF you earn an IBM certification or have one from elsewhere, come for a massage, food, or simply just to lounge. When I have free time, I plan to be here. I remember from last year that the cert lounge was one of the only places where you could find a table and comfy chairs to sit in.GRAND OPENING SESSION 8:00a-9:45a MC: Dana Carvey Ambuj Goyal, Steve Mills & Mike Borman - Kick start the conference with welcome message from the host executives, and perhaps a few jokes from Dana Carvey. You remember Dana... from Wayne's World fame! Mike Meyers is from Toronto and the movie spoofed many people who actually exist here!Bookstore 9:45a – 7:00pEXPO OPEN 11:15a-2:00p - Come visit our anchor, Angela Moore at booth 121. She's representing my whole organization and has important things to hand out.Lunch: 12:00-2Data Servers 2.0 Pushing past the Barriers of Information Technology Mandalay Bay Event Center - Arvind Krishna 2:15-3:15 - I can't say for sure... but there might be some important announcements going on at this time.... am I right?Flashbook Giveaway & Signing 3:15p – 4:15p - This event is showcasing some of my best work this year! Join us as we are giving away two flashbooks. What's a flashbook? Come out and find out.... What is the content? That too you'll have to come to find out. But I can tell you that once you get your flashbook, you'll have an opportunity to have it signed by some important people! This session conflicts with a demo that Laura Hammond is running. I plan to go visit her when I'm finished my work here.EXPO RECEPTION 5:00p-7:00p - More food and drinks?BEACH PARTY and dinner 7:00p-11:00p - party? sounds like a plan.

Tuesday October 16Breakfast 6:30-7:45Certification Testing 7:00a – 5:15pCertification Lounge 9:00a – 5:00p - I'm scheduled to work in the lounge from 9-2 today, so you know where to find me if you're looking. Bookstore 9:30a - 6:30pGeneral Session 8:00a-9:00a - Emilie McCabe GM Public SectorLunch: 11:30 - 1Expo Dinner Reception 4:30p-6:30pEntertainment - Donna Summer 7:15p-8:30p I mentioned to my 21-year old niece that I was going to see Donna Summer... she said "who?". I guess her peak was the late 70s... long before my niece was born, but clearly Donna Summer had an important part in music history as is shown by her recent nomination into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Wednesday October 17Breakfast 6:30-7Certification Testing 7:00a – 5:15pCertification Lounge 9:00a – 5:00pGENERAL SESSION Stephen Covey 8:00a-9:00a - Who hasn't read one of Covey's books! Stephen is our motivational speaker for the conference and I'm sure he'll give us 8 habits to become highly effective.Bookstore 9:30a – 4:00pCovey Signing 11:00a – 12:00p - Buy one of his books and meet Stephen Covey in person. A signed copy of one of his best selling books might make an excellent gift!Lunch: 11:30-1EXPO OPEN 12:00p-03:45p2728 Women In Technology: Leveraging Our Unique Abilities to Build Success 5:30p – 6:30p - Two of my buddies from the Toronto Lab are hosting this... Jennifer Gibbs and Linda Jairam. I try to take part in as many WIT events as I can... not because I'm a feminist, just that I think women often sell themselves short and often need more encouragement. I'm pretty good at giving people encouragement... and have had a few interesting experiences :)

Thursday October 18Breakfast 6:30-7:45Certification Testing 7:00a – 5:15pCertification Lounge 9:00a – 5:00pGENERAL SESSION 8:00a-9:30a - Panel host: Chris Anderson, Jeff Jonas and panel of innovators - Chris Anderson of wired magazine has sold 800,000 copies of his book! I've heard him speak and find him to be really down to earth and very interesting. I've only exchanged emails with Jeff Jonas, but have been told that some of his podcasts are outstanding. I'm looking forward to hearing these guys and a few other innovators discuss technology.Anderson and Kessler Author Signing 10:15a – 11:15a - Meet Chris Anderson and Carl Kessler in person while having copies of their books signed. Carl Kessler's book is still so new, so likely you don't own it yet. If you own "A Long Tail" by Anderson, bring your copy to be signed... or buy a second copy.Bookstore 8:30a – 12:00p - Last chance to buy books! If there are any left over, that is. I'm sure Rupin is hoping to sell out so he doesn't have to ship anything back.Lunch: 12:00-1:15

That's it for me. The conference does continue Thursday and half of Friday, but I'm flying home today. Can't be away too long from home!

I posted last week about the vast number of retail books that are available in India at local prices. Did you know that Shroff Publishers also reprint IBM Redbooks?

The following IBM Redbooks books are available for purchase, in printed format, through Shroff Publishing in India: AIX V6 Advanced Security Features Introduction and Configuration for Rs. 450AIX Version 6.1 provides many significant new security technologies and security enhancements. The purpose of this IBM Redbooks publication is to highlight and explain the security features at the conceptual level, as well as provide practical examples of how they may be implemented. Some features are extensions of features made available in prior AIX releases, and some are new features introduced with AIX V6.

This IBM Redbooks publication will provide a technical introduction to these new enhancements. The topics are both broad and very complex. This book will serve as an initial effort in describing all of the enhancements together in a single volume to the security/system hardening oriented audience.

Connecting Enterprise Applications to WebSphere Enterprise Service Bus for Rs. 600Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) promises a great leap forward in the re-use of applications by simplifying application composition. The technology that simplifies application composition is Service Component Architecture (SCA). SCA is an open component architecture for wiring services together to build composite applications.

WebSphere Enterprise Service Bus provides the on-ramp and off-ramp to incorporate many different applications and services into an SOA solution.

In this IBM Redbooks publication we introduce SCA and how it has evolved from earlier application integration architectures. We explain how WebSphere ESB connects applications and components to the service bus by using adapters and other types of SCA imports and exports.

Our main focus is helping you sort through the many choices that need to be made when deciding how to connect applications together to meet the requirements of a business scenario. We propose six different solution patterns, each with alternative implementations to choose from, to take on most integration scenarios. We also provide seven worked examples of some of the alternatives, which are fully described in the text, and are also available as working samples from the ITSO Redbooks Web site.

Developing SIP and IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) Applications for Rs. 650The convergence of Internet Protocol (IP) networks is enabling seamless communications that combine data, voice, video and other information streams. The true value of converged IP network however is realized through the converged applications that leverage the network. The key enabler to developing converged applications is the platform for designing, developing, testing, and deploying applications that integrate and compose services.

This IBM Redbook introduces IBM tools for creating converged Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) applications. It provides programming guidelines and working examples that demonstrate how to use the different development tools. It also provides hints and tips that enable you to quickly get up to speed developing converged applications.

This IBM Redbooks publication is aimed at the diverse set of professionals that design and develop SIP and IMS applications.

Dynamic Warehousing: Data Mining Made Easy for Rs. 525Data mining has evolved from the ethereal domain of the highly-skilled mathematician to the expert data miner's workbench tool and ultimately to widely accessible business applications. For decades, industry and academia have been engaged in far-reaching research and development of data mining. At the same time, businesses have been leveraging this research, exploiting a handful of algorithms most useful in finding information to help resolve business problems.

Recent trends have made these algorithms and systems, which are rooted in solid research, available to a wide range of business users in easy-to-use forms. Large numbers of business analysts, who may not be data mining experts, can now solve high-value business problems using data mining technology embedded in database-resident business applications.

In this IBM Redbooks publication, we discuss the methodology and selected techniques of embedded data mining and show how sophisticated technologies can be used in today's business environment to create significant business value. All this is enabled by the IBM DB2 Warehouse (DB2W) data mining capabilities. Using DB2W, we show examples of using data mining capabilities for such analytic functions as data modeling, scoring, and visualization. In addition, there are scenarios and examples that help in understanding where, when, and how to use data mining. For techniques, technical details, and practical examples, this is the book you need.

Experience J2EE! Using WebSphere Application Server V6.1 - Update for Rs. 500This IBM Redbooks publication is a hands-on guide to developing a comprehensive J2EE application, including core functions, security, Web services, and messaging. In the context of J2EE, messaging is also known as Java Message Service (JMS).

Novice users are thus able to experience J2EE, and advance from theoretical knowledge gained by reading introductory material to practical knowledge gained by implementing a real-life application.

Experience is one stage in gaining and applying knowledge, but there are additional stages needed to complete the knowledge acquisition cycle. This IBM Redbook also helps in those stages:

Before experiencing J2EE, you learn about the base specifications and intellectual knowledge of J2EE through brief descriptions of the theory and through links to other information sources.

After experiencing J2EE you will explore advanced J2EE through previews of advanced topics and links to other information sources.

IBM DB2 9 for z/OS: New Tools for Query Optimization for Rs. 600The cost-based optimizer of IBM DB2 for z/OS has continually evolved since its initial inception. Support has included new optimization algorithms, join methods, complex relational data structures, such as star schemas. DB2 for z/OS V8 has provided access path visualization and a Statistics Advisor function through a new Visual Explain.

DB2 9 for z/OS starts addressing the challenge of reducing cost of ownership by extending query optimization through expert-based query and workload analysis, server enhancements, and an Index Advisory function. These functions are delivered with two tools: DB2 Optimization Service Center and DB2 Optimization Expert.

This book helps you understand the installation, customization, and usage aspects of the tools. You are guided through scenarios of gradually increasing complexity where the functions of the tools are exploited for query optimization.

- Increase employee effectiveness and creativity through integrated messaging, collaboration, and office productivity applications.- Reduce overall cost of ownership by deploying integrated offering with office productivity suite included at no additional charge.- Protect IT infrastructure with a layered security model that reaches from server to individual field in a document.- Increase mobile and offline productivity from secure, reliable replication.- Increase individual responsiveness through customizable interface.- Reduce application development and deployment costs through quick creation application component mash ups.- Minimize downtime with high availability and simplified administration tools.

This IBM Redbooks® publication provides you with information about the new enhancements and features of Lotus Notes and Domino 8 and provides guidelines or directions on how to implement or utilize these. It also provides you with an approach to planning and deploying Lotus Notes and Domino 8 in new and existing environments.

Oracle to DB2 Conversion Guide for Linux, UNIX, and Windows for Rs. 700IBM DB2 has long been known for its technology leadership. This IBM Redbooks publication, intended for technical staff who are involved in an Oracle to DB2 conversion project, is an informative guide that describes how to migrate the database system from Oracle to DB2 Version 9 on Linux, UNIX, and Microsoft Windows platforms.This book provides conversion methodology and step-by-step instructions for installing and using IBM Migration Toolkit (MTK) to port the database objects and data from Oracle to DB2. It illustrates, with examples, how to convert the stored procedures, functions, and triggers. Application programming and conversion considerations are discussed, along with the differences in features and functionality of the two products.In addition, you can find script conversion samples for data loading, database administration, and reports that are useful for DBAs. The testing section provides procedures and tips for conversion testing and database tuning. The laboratory examples are performed under Oracle 10g and DB2 Version 9. However, the migration process and examples can be applied to Oracle 7, 8, and 9i.

Patterns: SOA Design Using WebSphere Message Broker and WebSphere ESB for Rs. 450The Patterns for e-business are a group of proven, reusable assets that can be used to increase the speed of developing and deploying e-business applications. This IBM Redbooks publication focuses on the use of the WebSphere Enterprise Service Bus and WebSphere Message Broker together to form an enterprise service bus (ESB) implemented in a service-oriented architecture (SOA).

This book discusses patterns for integrating WebSphere Enterprise Service Bus and WebSphere Message Broker and includes a scenario to help you design, develop, and deploy these products.

This book is designed to assist customers that are approaching the use of both advanced and basic ESB products from typically messaging and J2EE worlds, but are not quite sure when each is appropriate.

Understanding SOA Security Design and Implementation for Rs. 550Securing access to information is important to any business. Security becomes even more critical for implementations structured according to Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) principles, due to loose coupling of services and applications, and their possible operations across trust boundaries. To enable a business so that its processes and applications are flexible, you must start by expecting changes – both to process and application logic, as well as to the policies associated with them. Merely securing the perimeter is not sufficient for a flexible on demand business.

In this IBM Redbooks publication, security is factored into the SOA life cycle reflecting the fact that security is a business requirement, and not just a technology attribute. We discuss an SOA security model that captures the essence of security services and securing services. These approaches to SOA security are discussed in the context of some scenarios, and observed patterns. We also discuss a reference model to address the requirements, patterns of deployment, and usage, and an approach to an integrated security management for SOA.

This book is a valuable resource to senior security officers, architects, and security administrators.

*****************************I'll attempt to post on a weekly basis as to what DB2 training resources are available in India.

Did you know that Viper 2 brings new capabilities to you as a developer, whether you're using SQL, XML, PHP, Ruby, .NET, or Java™?

As a developer it is difficult to stay on top of what is going on in the industry as technology is constantly changing. Learn how Viper 2 brings new productivity capabilities to you as a developer regardless of what programming environment you are in. In this webcast, you'll get all the details about what's new for developers in the latest release of IBM® DB2® for Linux®, UNIX®, and Windows®.

Grant and Chris will discuss trends in the industry that affect developers and describe what IBM Information Management is doing to help your development. You probably already know that DB2 Express-C is free for developers to develop, deploy and distribute. Now, Viper 2 provides a variety of means that help move your application from the development stage to deployment more rapidly.

Use Best Practice Patterns to Understand and Architect Manageable, Efficient Information Supply Chains That Help You Leverage All Your Data and Knowledge

In the era of “Big Data,” information pervades every aspect of the organization. Therefore, architecting and managing it is a multi-disciplinary task. Now, two pioneering IBM architects present proven architecture patterns that fully reflect this reality. Using their pattern language, you can accurately characterize the information issues associated with your own systems, and design solutions that succeed over both the short- and long-term.

Building on the analogy of a supply chain, Mandy Chessell and Harald C. Smith explain how information can be transformed, enriched, reconciled, redistributed, and utilized in even the most complex environments. Through a realistic, end-to-end case study, they help you blend overlapping information management, SOA, and BPM technologies that are often viewed as competitive.

Using this book’s patterns, you can integrate all levels of your architecture–from holistic, enterprise, system-level views down to low-level design elements. You can fully address key non-functional requirements such as the amount, quality, and pace of incoming data. Above all, you can create an IT landscape that is coherent, interconnected, efficient, effective, and manageable.

At IBM Insights:

If you are attending the IBM Insights conference, you can meet Mandy and Harald and have them sign your book for you. They will be available on Tuesday October 28 from 2:45 to 3:45 pm at the conference bookstore.

Coverage Includes:

Understanding how a pattern language can help you address key information management challenges

Defining information strategy and governance for organizations and users

Creating orderly information flows you can reuse and synchronize as needed

Managing information structure, meaning, and lifecycles

Providing for efficient information access and storage when deploying new IT capabilities

About the authors:

Mandy Chessell

FREng CEng FBCS

Mandy has worked for IBM since 1987. She is an IBM Distinguished Engineer, IBM Master Inventor, and member of the IBM Academy of Technology Leadership Team. As the chief architect for InfoSphere® Solutions in IBM’s Software Group, Mandy designs common information integration patterns for different industries and solutions.

In earlier roles, Mandy’s work has focused on transaction processing, event management, business process management, information management, and model-driven development. This breadth is reflected in her invention portfolio, which to date stands at over 50 issued patents worldwide.

Outside of IBM, Mandy is a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and a visiting professor at the University of Sheffield, UK. In 2001, she was the first woman to be awarded a Silver Medal by the Royal Academy of Engineering, and in 2000, she was one of the “TR100” young innovators identified by MIT’s Technology Review magazine. In 2006, she won a British Female Innovators and Inventors Network (BFIIN) “Building Capability” award for her work developing innovative people and the BlackBerry “2006 Best Woman in Technology - Corporate Sector” award. More recently, she was granted an honorary fellowship of the Institution for Engineering Designers (IED) and she won the “2012 everywoman Innovator of the Year.” For more information on Mandy’s publications, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanda_Chessell.

Harald Smith

Harald has worked for IBM since 2005. Harald is a software architect in IBM’s Software Group specializing in information quality, integration, and governance products, and is IBM certified in delivering IBM Information Management solutions. In this role, he develops best practices, methodology, and accelerators for common information integration use cases.

Harald has 30 years of experience working with data quality products and solutions; product and project management; application development and delivery; system auditing; technical services; and business processes across the software, financial services, healthcare, and education sectors. Harald was the product manager at Ascential® Software and IBM responsible for designing and bringing the IBM InfoSphere Information Analyzer product to market as a key component in IBM’s information quality portfolio. He has been issued three patents in the field of information quality and rule discovery and was recently recognized as an IBM developer- Works Contributing Author.

IBM Data Studio is an Eclipse-based tool that is the replacement of the
DB2 Control Center and other tools for DB2. In conjunction with DB2 Express-C,
the no-charge edition of DB2, Data Studio is ideal for DBAs,
developers, students, ISVs, or consultants because it's easy and free
to use. You can extend Data Studio with additional robust management
and development capabilities from IBM to help accelerate solution
delivery, optimize performance, protect data privacy, manage data
growth, and more. What can you learn in the book?

Also, check out all the action that is happening ON CAMPUSES around the world! The group is growing. There is excitement! And thanks to Agatha, there is a new newsletter for your to read with some of the year's highlights! Join ChannelDB2.com today and join the groups that interest you...... hopefully including DB2 in Books and DB2 on Campus!

This is my last working day before I fly to Vegas for the IOD Conference. I arrive on Saturday morning and will begin my work by ensuring that all the packages (aka books) have arrived as expected. I meet with a publisher on Saturday night and then the full days begin on Sunday. Here is my schedule, so I hope we cross paths once or twice if you're in Vegas as well!

These eBooks (http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/db2/library/techarticle/dm-0511appdev/)take you through a guided tour of your chosen programming model and the accompanying native support enablement that comes with IBM DB2 Universal Database. You'll quickly find that the interfaces, the tooling, and the help are all cognizant of your choice of programming model. When it comes to application developers and DB2 UDB, you truly can have your cake and eat it too. When it comes to application developers, no other database provides the level of tooling and language integration like DB2 UDB. Whether you want to write your applications in an Open Source language like PHP, you're exploring the world of Web services vis-a-vis a Services Oriented Architecture (SOA), live for Java, or love .NET, the DB2 UDB database platform is there for you. See for yourself just how easy it is to develop applications for the DB2 platform!

Just a side note on one of the authors: I recommended Paul Zikopoulos as a guest lecturer at Queen's University. Paul did an amazing job and the Queen's professor said that Paul was the best guest lecturer he's had in over 10 years! If you get a chance to hear Paul speak, I suggest that you take the opportunity. If that's not possible, I suggest that you pick up one of the many retail books that Paul's been involved with:

Apache Derby / Cloudscape - Off to the RacesThe Official Guide to DB2 V8

I blogged about IBM DB2 Gaming last month, and when at the IDUG Athens conference last week, I handed out many DVDs that contain these games. I hope all those who received a DVD find it useful.

One of the suggestions I made to the attendees last week is that the games can be suitable for a teenaged audience. I was part of the pilot team and personally taught a classroom full of high-school students using the DB2 Detective Game. I was very pleased to see the awe in the students at the end of the session with comments like "oh, that's a database!" or "SQL is REALLY powerful". I hope you have similar experiences with either teenagers or new employees. Please let me know your experiences.

This is a 10-part introductory podcast series on pureXML business value and technical knowledge. The first part covers overview and business value, and the follow-on 8 parts cover different aspects of pureXML. The last part talks about best practices.

Part 1: pureXML in DB2 9 for z/OS makes XML consumable

Part 2: Getting started with pureXML

Part 3: Querying XML data with XPath in SQL for Beginners

Part 4: SQL/XML Constructor functions (publishing functions)

Part 5: Leveraging SQL for XML data with XMLTABLE function

Part 6: XML Indexes and Access Plans

Part 7: XML Schema Support

Part 8: pureXML Performance and Cost Factors

Part 9: pureXML Utility Features and Impact on DBAs

Part 10: Best Practices of pureXML in DB2 9 for z/OS

And... while you're visiting ChannelDB2.com, be sure to check out the groups that are available for you to join!

I wasn’t able to set up a bookstore for this event, but I hope you will like and benefit from what I was able to arrange.

I have a single copy of each book that I want to promote being shipped to me at the conference. I’ll set these up in the EXPO area (Booth #316) for you to take a look at what is available. Browse through the books as well, but leave them with me so others may take a look as well.

I’ll then provide you information as to how you can order a copy of the book for yourself. Several of the publishers have also agreed to sell the books at a discount so IDUG attendees can get the best price possible.

Here are the books I’ll be promoting:

Pearson / IBM Press: Offer: 45% off if you are an IDUG member! Sign in as a member on IDUG.org to get the promotion code.

These books are featured on theibmpressbooks.com website that offers 35% off and free shipping within the US. Be sure to bookmark this page and share with others who buy technical books. IBM Press books are available in epub and kindle formats as well.

Several people have notified me that Prometric was listing our upgrade exam (Exam 736) for the price of $150 per take. This was an error and it's now been corrected.

Roger Sanders is currently working on follow-ons to his DB2 9 Fundamentals Certification Study Guide.... one for Exam 731 and one for Exam 736. These books will continue with the tradition started by Roger in that they'll contain as many sample questions as possible. The Fundamentals book just arrived last week at our site's library and there is already a huge waiting list for the book.... perhaps the library needs to buy more copies to keep up with the demand! I hope the book is as popular for your company as well. If not... it should be!

I wanted to make sure that you were aware of this promotion that my team is currently running:

With every qualifying IBM Information Management classroom training course you attend between June 5, 2007 and October 31, 2007, you will receive a certification discount voucher good for 50% off the cost of an eligible Information Management certification exam. Along with industry recognition, IBM Certified Professionals proudly get to display the IBM Certified Professional Logo and will receive an official Information Management Certified Professional t-shirt!

For a list of the eligible courses and exams... as well as the usual legal verbiage, see our Train and Save Promotion page.

Distinguish yourself in this highly skilled marketplace by joining our elite group of IBM Certified Professionals, there is no better time!